Liberal democracies very rarely fight wars against each other,
even though they go to war just as often as other types of states
do. John M. Owen IV attributes this peculiar restraint to a synergy
between liberal ideology and the institutions that exist within
these states. Liberal elites identify their interests with those of
their counterparts in foreign states, Owen contends. Free
discussion and regular competitive elections allow the agitations
of the elites in liberal democracies to shape foreign policy,
especially during crises, by influencing governmental decision
makers. Several previous analysts have offered theories to explain
liberal peace, but they have not examined the state.
This book explores the chain of events linking peace with
democracies. Owen emphasizes that peace is constructed by
democratic ideas, and should be understood as a strong tendency
built upon historically contingent perceptions and institutions. He
tests his theory against ten cases drawn from over a century of
U.S. diplomatic history, beginning with the Jay Treaty in 1794 and
ending with the Spanish-American War in 1898. A world full of
liberal democracies would not necessarily be peaceful. Were
illiberal states to disappear, Owen asserts, liberal states would
have difficulty identifying one another, and would have less reason
to remain at peace.
General
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